Florida International University
Department of Earth Sciences
GLY 1010: Introduction to Earth Science
Practice Quiz (Not for credit)






1. What does the elastic rebound theory describe?
A.the build-up and release of stress during an earthquake
B.the fluctuations in groundwater prior to an earthquake
C.the formation of mountain ranges by successive earthquakes
D.the strength of an earthquake


2.
Questions 3 through 5 refer to the cross-section below:
R-1 Ref 18-1

What is the feature labeled "C" in the diagram?
A.the epicenter
B.the fault scarp
C.the focus
D.the dip



3. Which of the following types of seismic waves arrive at a seismograph first?
A.P waves
B.S waves
C.surface waves
D.All of these waves arrive at the same time.


4. What type of seismic waves are S waves?
A.surface waves
B.shear waves
C.compressional waves
D.tsunamis


5. Who developed the procedure used to measure the size of an earthquake?
A.Charles Richter
B.James Hutton
C.Charles Darwin
D.Henri Darcy


6. The ground motion during a Richter magnitude 8 earthquake is ______ times large than the ground motion during a Richter magnitude 6 earthquake.
A.2
B.10
C.100
D.1000


7. How many seismograph stations are needed to locate the epicenter of an earthquake?
A.1
B.2
C.3
D.4 or more


8. Which of the following statements is true?
A.As the distance to an earthquake increases, the elapsed time before the P-waves arrive decreases.
B.As the distance to an earthquake increases, the elapsed time before the S-waves arrive increases.
C.As the distance to an earthquake increases, the elapsed time between the arrival of the P- and S-waves increases.
D.As the distance to an earthquake increases, the ground shaking increases.


9. Which of the following statements about earthquakes is true?
A.Most earthquakes occur in intraplate settings.
B.The time and location of most major earthquakes can be predicted several days in advance.
C.Earthquakes can be caused by normal, reverse, and strike-slip faulting.
D.S waves travel faster than both P waves and surface waves.


10. Which of the following major earthquakes did not occur at a plate boundary?
A.1812 New Madrid, Missouri
B.1906 San Francisco, California
C.1964 Anchorage, Alaska
D.1989 Loma Prieta, California


11. Earthquakes that originate at depths greater than 100 km are associated with ______ plate boundaries.
A.convergent
B.divergent
C.transform
D.convergent, divergent, and transform


12. Which of the following observations may indicate a forthcoming destructive earthquake?
A.an increase in the frequency of smaller earthquakes in the region
B.rapid tilting of the ground
C.rapid changes in water levels in wells
D.all of these



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